Contender Vol 1 10
Appearing in Shaken Featured Characters *Team Contender **Ethan Walters/Contender **Jason Ridgemont **Jonathan Walters **Robert Stewart **Logan Baxter Supporting Characters *Jennifer Hawke Villains *Black Death (Revealed) Synopsis for Shaken The issue opens on Jonathan and Logan in the Team Contender base, Jonathan pacing back and forth while Logan sits in a chair. Jonathan: What if this Black Death guy is more powerful than we think? What if he destroys them completely? Logan: We have to hope that Ethan, Robert, and Jason are better than that. Jonathan: I know they're good, but we have zero information on this guy. He could literally be the strongest being in the universe, but we don't know, because we went into battle blind. Logan: Calm down, Jonathan. Jonathan: Calm? I am calm. Completely calm. My son could be dead right now, who knows? I'm completely calm, though. Jonathan kicks the wall, leaving a small dent in the metal. Logan stands up, putting his hand on Jonathan's shoulder. Logan: Jonathan, I'm worried about them too. But sitting here, worrying yourself to death isn't gonna help them any. We just have to wait here and hope they're alright. Jonathan nods. Jonathan: I know. I just… I can't lose Ethan before I can tell him the truth. Logan: Are you talking about V- Jonathan: Yes. That's exactly what I'm talking about. Logan rubs his forehead. Logan: Do you want to know what I think? Jonathan: Always. Logan nods. Logan: Ethan is a really smart kid. The way I see it, if you don't tell him, he'll just find out on his own eventually. If he does… there may be no salvaging of your relationship with him. Jonathan nods. Jonathan: So you think I should tell him? Logan: Yeah. I think he's ready. Suddenly, Ethan, Jason, and Robert race in. Jonathan: You guys are alive! Jason: Barely. Jason helps Robert onto the medical bed before sitting down, while Ethan collapses to the ground. Jonathan kneels down next to his son, while Logan approaches Jason and Robert. Logan: What happened to you guys out there? Robert: Black Death… he was something else. Ethan: We underestimated him. He was just like me, but stronger. Faster. Plus he had Voltage's powers. Logan: Robert, are you alright? Robert: I think so. He didn't do much damage to me. Ethan stands up, slowly. Ethan: I knew it was a mistake to bring you guys out there. You both could've gotten seriously hurt. Robert sits up. Robert: Us? Why don't you tell your dad and Logan how Jason and I both had to save you out there tonight. Ethan rolls his eyes. Jonathan: Is this true? Ethan looks at his dad. Ethan: Maybe the Black Death got the drop on me a little. Robert: A little? Ethan, you were seconds away from getting killed. TWICE! Ethan: Can you shut up, Robert? Robert looks away. Jonathan: You almost died out there? Ethan: I didn't. That's what we should be focusing on. Jonathan shakes his head. Jonathan: How did this guy get this big of a drop on us? Ethan: He knows who we are. Logan: What? Ethan: He knows I'm Contender, he knows that Dad is All-Star, and he knows about the team. He knows everything about us. Logan: How? Ethan: I don't know! All I know is that if I ever see him, I will take him down. Destroy him. Whatever it takes. Jonathan looks at the team. Jonathan: Maybe we should all get some rest, regroup tomorrow. How does that sound? Ethan stomps up stairs, as Logan helps Robert and Jason out. Jonathan walks them out, before stopping and looking at an old family photo, showing him and Ethan's mother, Vanessa, holding a baby Ethan. He closes his eyes. Jonathan: You have to tell him eventually, Jonathan. Sooner rather than later. Ethan sits in his bed. He stares at the ceiling. Ethan: I couldn't sleep. There was absolutely zero chance I was just gonna sit there and rest. I needed someone to talk to. Ethan grabs his phone. He dials a number. Ethan: Hey, you're still awake? Ok, this may sound weird, but can you meet me at the diner? We cut to the diner, where Ethan sits across from Jennifer. Jennifer: Why did you call me at midnight and have me meet you at the diner? Ethan: Can't I just wanna hang out? Jennifer: Ethan, you never wanna just hang out anymore. It seems like everytime I see you, I'm bumping into you in random situations. Ethan: … that's weirdly true. Jennifer: What's going on with you? Ethan looks away. Jennifer takes Ethan's hand. Ethan looks at her. Jennifer: You can talk to me, Ethan. Ethan smiles. Ethan: I really like you, Jennifer. Like, I REALLY like you. Jennifer smiles. Jennifer: Well, I really like you too. No matter how weird and suspicious you can be sometimes. Ethan: I was wondering, since the dance is coming up, and we're going together, maybe after the dance, we can… try something out. Like, romantic kinda stuff. Jennifer: Like, dating? Ethan: Yeah, I guess that's what I'm trying to say. The two laugh. Jennifer squeezes Ethan's hand. Jennifer: I'd like that. Ethan smiles. Ethan: Wanna split a burger? We transition to the next day, where Jason sits at work. As Jason works at his desk, the phone rings. He answers the phone. Jason: Central City Police Department, what is your emergency? Voice: Hello, I'd like to report a murder. Jason: Whose? Black Death: Yours. Jason looks around. He begins whispering in the phone. Jason: What the !?$# do you want with me? Black Death: You shot me, $@!#&*$. Whatever happens to you is your own fault. Jason: Rather than threatening me over the phone, why don't you come and get me? Black Death: Your wish is my command. Suddenly, the lights in the police station go out. Everyone gets up. Officer: I'll go check on the circuit breaker. Jason: No! Everyone turns to Jason. Jason: No one is leaving this station. Officer: Why? Jason: There's a large threat incoming. Everyone, guns up. All the officers get their guns ready. Officer: What exactly is this threat? Jason: The most powerful thing you've ever seen. Suddenly, Black Death appears in the police station. Everyone stares at him, eyes wide. Jason: Fire! All the officers fire at Black Death, who suddenly races over to a different location. Black Death: You're gonna have to be a little faster than that. Black Death races around the police station, taking out officers one by one. He eventually makes his way to Jason. Black Death: Your time has come to an end, Ridgemont. Jason: Yeah. For you! Jason throws a grenade on the ground and pushes Black Death onto it, doing a backflip over the desk to hide. Black Death gets up at the last second, and is still blasted by the grenade. Black Death gets up slowly, dazed by the explosion. He looks over at the desk that Jason is hiding behind. He approaches it slowly, before jumping over it to find Jason gone. Black Death: Where did he go? Jason suddenly stabs Black Death in the back. Jason: Right here. Black Death elbows Jason in the face, sending him crashing through a wall. Black Death walks through the wall, and finds Jason lying on the ground, limp. Black Death: Not so strong, are you? Black Death races away. Jason suddenly jumps up. He limps over to his phone, and calls Ethan. Jason: Come get me, Ethan. Suddenly, a figure grabs Jason and races him over to the Team Contender base. We realize the figure is Ethan, as Jason sits down in a chair, Jonathan, Logan, and Robert standing. Ethan: What happened to you? Jason: Black Death attacked the police station. Took down a bunch of officers. Logan: Seriously? Jonathan: We need to find out who this guy is and take him down. Jason: I know exactly how. Jason pulls out the knife he stabbed Black Death with, still caked in blood. Jason: This is Black Death's blood. Robert grabs the knife. Robert: I can run this against all known blood samples. We can find out who this guy is. We cut to Black Death's warehouse. Black Death walks inside the warehouse, walking over to his wall. Black Death: Ethan, Jonathan, all of them think they wanna know who I am. But they don't. We cut back to the Team Contender base, where Robert runs the blood sample against all known blood samples in their system. We cut back to Black Death's base, where he removes his gloves. Black Death: Because when they find out who I am… We cut back to Team Contender, as a match is found. We cut back to Black Death's base. Black Death: It'll hurt. We cut back to Team Contender, as Ethan's face drops. Ethan: No. We cut back to Black Death, as he removes his mask, revealing an aged woman, in her late thirties-early forties. We recognize her. We cut back to the Team Contender base. The issue ends on a page that shows the name on the computer… Vanessa Walters. To be continued… Solicit Synopsis Black Death sets his sights on Team Contender, beginning with an attempt on the life of Jason. The team becomes determined to take down Black Death, uncovering his true identity. Category:Contender Category:Paragon Comics Category:Comics